From the archives: In the deep end at the Pennsylvania Farm Show

Mary Wilson covered Pennsylvania’s state Capitol for public radio stations across the state for WITF until 2016. She reported on state politics, budgets, and legislative undertakings large and small. She also followed the brief but wondrous life of Pennsylvania’s voter ID law. She has written about public pension debt and design. She has overdosed on crosstabs. She previously worked for a Maryland state senator and at public radio station WFUV in the Bronx, where she interviewed academics and witnessed a small chunk of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s life behind podiums.

For everything the Pennsylvania Farm Show offers, one of the most overpowering experiences is the smell. The event is known for being the largest indoor agricultural exhibition in the country, with an oft-touted 6,000 animals that call the indoor complex home for some part of the eight-day affair.

“We also have to deal with what comes out the other end. That’s all part of taking care of animals,” said Farm Show manager Jim Sharp. He handles everything from ordering ribbons to organizing the largest outflow of animal excrement in Harrisburg every year.

To be blunt: It’ll take as many as 28 tractor-trailer loads to haul away all the manure left at the Farm Show Complex.

Where does it go? How does it work? And who’s making sure the good people of Pennsylvania aren’t stepping in it on the way to get a milkshake?